Mary Liepold
Editor in Chief 
“Even when my mind is fully made up, I don’t think I’m going to be turning up at either kind of rally.”
***
Stereotypes are regrettable. And life is complicated. So most of us simplify our mental lives with pre-made pictures of certain categories of others.
I admit I do. I picture an anti-abortion demonstrator as a young man with short, neatly combed hair and slightly wild eyes, or an older woman with sensible shoes and a tight mouth. I picture pro-abortion demonstrators as college-age women and their pleasantly scruffy …

Patricia Smith Melton
Peace X Peace Founder 
“The end of legal abortion does not end abortions, it brings a return of prejudice, physical danger, hardship, and psychological scarring from being treated as unworthy and being denied legal safe medical care.”
***
Of course there’s life at conception. There’s life before conception. The body is alive, a woman’s body is alive. Plants are alive. Toes are alive. Microbes are alive. We live in a world that is alive. I could even, and often have over the past decades, made the case that rocks are alive. …

Every Friday in Jerusalem
By Nora Lester Murad
 
On Fridays,
I feel rested
you feel anxious
I make pancakes
you cut onions
I fold laundry
You tie kafiyehs
I read email
You read danger
I buy fish
You buy time
I contemplate you
you contemplate them
Then,
tear gas stings
shots ring
I cringe
you bleed
I write
***
Nora Lester Murad, PhD, writes fiction and commentary from Jerusalem, Palestine. Her blog, “The View from My Window in Palestine” addresses issues of international development and life under military occupation She is a life-long social justice activist and a founder of Dalia Association, Palestine’s first community foundation. She tweets from @NoraInPalestine.
More by Nora …

Uraidah Hassani
New York, New York
“We envision a global community of women and girls who believe in their self-worth, are informed and smart decision-makers, and are motivated to be leaders and change-makers in their own communities.” – Uraidah Hassani, Founder and Executive Director, The Women Worldwide Initiative
***
The persistence of gender inequities and poverty in all regions and countries across the globe is the most pressing and enduring issue of our time. The Women Worldwide Initiative believes that education and leadership training are crucial for women and girls to secure equal rights …